Business of the House

Damien Moore Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The hon. Gentleman makes an extremely important and valid point. The Government are keen that Committees should be set up as soon as is reasonably practicable, and we are, in the meantime, ensuring that the very popular debates that have been asked for historically and were given by the Government before the Backbench Business Committee existed are happening; so we will have the St David’s Day debate, as I announced.

[Damien Moore (Southport) (Con)]

Valuing Everyone training was made available to combat bullying and harassment, and all Members were encouraged to take part in that. Will my right hon. Friend confirm whether it is still available and that it is open to all parliamentary passholders?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I hope that Valuing Everyone training will improve the culture within this House, and it is available for all passholders. I know that that will be of particular interest to the Lobby, because a number of the complaints that came were from journalists who had been affected by these issues. It is not just about telling people to behave better; it is also about telling people that there is a system that will listen to them, where they can seek advice and consultations, and about how to make complaints. I encourage everybody to take this training, including the doyens of sketch-writers, who seem to find our proceedings so fascinating.

Business of the House

Damien Moore Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am not sure that I accept the entire premise of that question, but next Wednesday there will be a debate in Opposition time on local government finance, and on Wednesday 12 February there will be motions relating to local government finance reports, at which these issues can be aired.

[Damien Moore (Southport) (Con)]

What timescale does my right hon. Friend have in mind for the re-establishment of the Liaison Committee, and does the Chairman of that Committee have to be selected from the current Select Committee Chairs?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Committees are in the process of being set up, and the Government and House authorities have done well in doing that pretty swiftly. The Liaison Committee will follow in accordance with that process. My hon. Friend raises an interesting point about the Chairman. In the last Parliament, the Chairman was from the Committee, but that is not a requirement of Standing Orders. It could be somebody else.

Business of the House

Damien Moore Excerpts

Thursday 8th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise how small businesses were treated by the big banks during the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis and subsequently. He has now raised the issue in this place, and I suggest that he seeks an Adjournment debate if he would like further action so that Ministers can respond directly.

[Damien Moore (Southport) (Con)]

Can we have a debate on what we can do to encourage more women to stand for public office? That is particularly apt as we commemorate the first women getting the vote 100 years ago.

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend is right that, 100 years after the first women got the right to vote, we have made huge progress in advancing women’s rights, but he is also right that there is a long way to go. Vicious and personal online abuse has no place in our public life. We are doing several things. First, we are introducing a new annual internet safety transparency report. Secondly, the Prime Minister announced this week that the Law Commission will review the legislation relating to offensive online communications. And thirdly, a social media code of practice will be published later this year setting out clearly the minimum standards expected of social media platforms.

Business of the House

Damien Moore Excerpts

Thursday 14th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

Governments of all colours have tried hard to ensure that we reduce the incidence of road traffic accidents and that we try to provide all drivers with the right know-how to be able to drive safely and carefully. The hon. Gentleman will be aware of forthcoming legislation on driverless vehicles, which presents an opportunity to improve road safety. Nevertheless, he might wish to seek an Adjournment debate, so he can discuss the specific and very good work of the organisation he mentions.

[Damien Moore (Southport) (Con)]

The Government have committed to help at least another 11 million children in the poorest countries to get a decent education by 2020. Will the Leader of the House find time to hold a debate on the importance of investing in education as a means of helping children out of poverty?

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend raises something that the UK Government are extremely proud of: our international aid efforts to support all young people everywhere to get a decent education. I encourage him to seek an Adjournment debate or perhaps a Backbench Business Committee debate, so that all colleagues can celebrate the contribution of the UK’s people towards ensuring education for all.